Intel's Enters Web 2.0 Fray with SuiteTwo

Intel has announced that it is releasing a suite of Web 2.0 software applications delivering a core set of next generation blogging, collaboration, and high context marketing apps to the enterprise. Partnering with leading innovators Six Apart, SocialText, NewsGator, SimpleFeed and SpikeSource initially, Intel's "SuiteTwo" offering will bring the set of tools together into a single bundle, branded by Intel.
The software suite's first incarnation will include the following core applications: Blogging powered by Movable Type

Powerful control over your content: Easily customize the design and presentation of your blog, and automatically publish RSS feeds.

Unlimited blogs: Create a separate blog for each product, project, or conversation, and manage them all in one simple interface.

Extensible functionality: Movable Type's core platform can be extended with customizations and plugins, all provided by a robust global community of developers and consultants.

Wikis powered by SocialText

Simplest and easiest to use wiki on the planet, including Wikiwyg: WYSIWYG editing for wikis

One goal of the bundling approach is to allow companies to easily install, setup and integrate these products. Making things even more accessible, the offering will be available in both a download and install format or as a hosted software as a service (SAS). Notable applicaiton integration features include single sign-on for all the products, integrated search capabilities, and unified tagging and tag-driven content navigation.
Intel Capital, Intel's venture capital organization, pioneered the assembly of this suite, while software vendor SpikeSource handled most of the technical details. Intel's Software and Solutions Group plans to make the suite available through its extensive OEM and reseller sales channels, tapping into such incumbents as Dell, NEC, TechData, and Ingram Micro. No doubt the participating SuiteTwo software partners will also drive sales through their respective reseller and professional channels.
"SuiteTwo demonstrates the benefits of bringing together individual Web 2.0 products into a solution for businesses," said Renee James, corporate vice president and general manager of Intel's Software and Solutions Group. "The Intel Channel Marketplace will help bring this solution to the broader enterprise community."
The collaboration of smaller "Web 2.0" partners with household name Intel is a smart move for the little guys. No doubt they seek to make in-roads into the Enterprise market, as evidenced recently by Six Apart's Enterprise Blogging initiatives and SocialText's team-up with Microsoft, offering their Wiki services on the SharePoint and MOSS platforms. Through association with the Intel bundle these vendors not only benefit from a bundled sales model, but in the process edge closer to becoming safe and known brands themselves, around the corp data centers and executive conference tables.
Initially, the software suite will be offered in English and Japanese versions. Future releases will include tools for podcasting, business networking, and staying connected wirelessly.
Intel said that this software is optimized for Intel processors but common sense dictates it will run across other CPU's and hardware platforms as well. Initial operating system support is planned for RedHat Linux and Novell's SUSE Linux. The product is not expected to ship until the first quarter of 2007, but interested parties can order in advance today. Pricing is on a per seat basis with each seat running somewhere between US$ 150 and 200 per year, details still being refined.
In related news, with the release of Adobe's Acrobat 8 family of products, the company is also making a stronger play for the enterprise document management and collaboration market.